Children of Tekka
by sinsandshadows
Summary: New and improved...or maybe just improved Cole Aiba is having a crisis of faith, can his friends and twin brother snap him out of it in time? Please R&R! Third chapter up!
1. Friends

Children of Tekka

By: BeautifulAli

Rating: PG

Disclaimers: Teknoman/Tekkaman Blade doesn't belong to me, I'm just borrowing it for a while. The characters of Cole, Miu, etc. do belong to me, so don't use them without permission please.

Chapter 1 – Friends

"Tekk setter!" cried Cole Aiba, raising his yellow transformation-inducing crystal high above his head. In an instant he was wrapped from head to toe in his familiar impenetrable white, orange and yellow armor, his second skin. With a hot flash of afterburners he was airborne, winging away into space where the enemy Rahdam ships waited for battle.

Tekkaman Mace, as Cole was called when hidden in his armor, gripped his weapon tightly to his chest as he sped by Jupiter, readying himself for the imminent battle. The mace-headed spear felt almost alive in his hands, as if it, too, was anticipating a good battle. It called to him, urging him to destroy, to kill. Mace breathed deeply, flushing the nervous energy from his body. "It's time," he whispered to himself as he emerged from Jupiter's shadow and saw the Rahdam fleet.

Igniting his burners again, weapon in hand, Mace charged. The outlying spider-crabs (a name invented by the Space Knights for the living drone ships) died quickly, their pink, viscous blood spilling into the vacuum of space. Mace was tireless and relentless in his destruction. Wave after wave of Rahdam spider-crabs fell to his blazing weapon and the bursts of orange voltekker energy that emanated from energy-gatherers hidden in the chest plate of his armor. To Mace, the crabs were more of a nuisance than anything else; they did little damage and were easy to kill. He wondered why the Rahdam would bother with them when they had other weapons that did far greater damage. But he supposed every army needed its expendable pawns.

The remaining spider-crabs retreated, heading back into deep space, toward the main control ship. Mace sighed and did not pursue them. He'd done more than enough for today. The cities of Earth were safe until the aliens could assemble another battle fleet, which wouldn't be for at least another two Terran days. Fatigue finally setting in, he burned his thrusters, heading back to Earth and the Space Knight Headquarters. 

*

Mace touched down on the paved landing strip and willed his armor away and dressed once again in the red and white uniform of the tekkamen space knights.  Cole walked into the humongous, multi-leveled steel and glass building that served as Earth's command station and the headquarters of the Space Knights, intent on going to his room and getting some sleep. He walked through the hanger, where the Blue Earth—the legendary Earth flagship that carried Tekkaman Blade into battle against the Rahdam over twenty years ago; one of the first ships capable of attaining the speed necessary to battle the Rahdam—and the other ships in the Space Knight fleet were housed. The mechanics, used to his antisocial moods after battle, merely ignored him as he walked by.

"Hiya, Cole!" called a cheerful voice from the other end of the hanger. He revised his earlier thought.  The intelligent mechanics ignored him.  Miu was another story.  Despite his original intent, he found himself walking over to her.

"What do you want Miu?" demanded Cole of the young woman dressed in stained denim mechanic's overalls.

"Jeez, Cole, brighten up, huh? I was only being friendly." Her liquid brown eyes filled with tears. "Aren't we friends, Cole?"

He swore under his breath. Oh, she was not going to do this to him. He was perfectly happy without friends, yet for some reason he couldn't bear to see Miu Saroko cry. Though he had to admit, she did cry a lot. He sighed, "Yeah, Miu. We're friends."

"Good! Then let's go get coffee. I'm on my break," she said cheerfully, brushing tears from her reddened eyes.

Cole, despite desperately needing sleep, reluctantly agreed. They took the elevators to the cafeteria level, Miu chatting all the way there, Cole doing his best to sound civil. The cafeteria was bustling with the lunchtime crowd of mechanics and pilots, and even a few Space Knight pilots, the fleet officers who accompanied the New Generation (or NewGen, as they were more commonly called) tekkamen into battle. 

Cole and Miu got their coffee and sat down in an empty table. She added sugar and a bit of cream, still chatting away. He warmed his hands against the outside of the mug and listened, more or less attentively.

"…And then Ryo told me that Commander Aiba was recruiting pilots! So, is he?" she asked eagerly. "I've always wanted to be a pilot!"

"I dunno if he is or not, Miu. Guess you should ask him."

She looked at him incredulously. "You do know who we're talking about here, right? He's Tekkaman Evil, Shinya Aiba, the scariest man to ever join the Space Knights."

"He's my uncle, Miu. He's not so bad really."

"Maybe not to his family, but I don't think he's ever liked me, Cole."

"Did he ever tell you that?" he asked Miu, gritting his teeth, ready to kill his uncle if he had said anything like that to her. She was far too innocent to be disliked by anyone.

"Well, I guess not, but he never says thank you or anything when I help him with his paperwork. I always got the feeling that he was watching me for any mistake, just so he could yell at me for ruining his stuff."

Cole sighed. His uncle was not the friendliest of people, even under the best of circumstances, and sometimes he was purposely intimidating. He probably was hard on Miu when she did secretary work for him. Cole understood, somewhat. It was hard for people to accept his surrender to the Space Knights twenty years ago; it was even harder for them to accept that he still looked only twenty-four. During the first invasion in 192, the Rahdam had used human beings as base bodies for their weapons of mass destruction—their tekkamen. Both Uncle Shinya and Cole's father, Takaya, had been primary bodies for the Radham, but while Takaya Aiba had fought the alien technology, Shinya had embraced it. He'd been one of the Rahdam's finest lieutenants until his brother had somehow persuaded him to join the Space Knights. But nothing could undo the effects of the alien parasite and the regeneration pods upon Shinya's body. His aging was severely retarded; he aged one year for every five calendar years.

Yet somehow, despite the initial distrust of the Space Knights, he'd been able to take command of the NewGen Space Knight tekkamen and train them in how to use their powers to defend the Earth. And, Cole had to admit, he was pretty good at it. Uncle Shinya had given him his crystal and taught him how to tekk set when the Rahdam had attacked a year ago. Not dad. Dad had hidden the crystals from his sons after they were born. Takaya wanted nothing to do with the Space Knights anymore, and hadn't ever since the second war had ended. Dad was a coward, and so was Nick, Cole's twin brother. Anyone who had the ability to fight and protect the human race should fight. It was their duty.

"Hey! Earth to Cole!" said Miu loudly.

"Huh?" he said, startled out of his thoughts.

"I said, are you going to the celebration next week?"

The officers were throwing a party to mark a whole year of the successful preservation of Earth from the alien Rahdam invaders. Successful, ha! What about all the flower pods on the surface, just waiting for an innocent to stumble inside and be transformed into a tekkaman under Rahdam control? 

"I don't think so, Miu," he told her. 

All those people enjoying life for a few hours would only make him even more depressed, since he couldn't appreciate his existence anymore. Sleep, eat, and fight was all he did, day in and day out. There was always some new menace that only tekkaman Mace could face. "I have other plans," he lied.

"Oh," she said. "Hey, that's okay, Cole. There will always be another one year anniversary of the defending of Earth."

He winced at her sarcastic tone and wondered again why he let this little slip of a girl get to him. Perhaps it was because she still had hope that everything would be okay in the end. Cole had no such faith. Humanity would either lose to the Rahdam, becoming their slaves, or the war would go on forever. The people of Earth just didn't have the firepower to possibly win. The best they could hope for was stalemate, but that he wouldn't prevent him from fighting until his last breath. Cole wasn't his father; he wouldn't give up when his people needed him, even if the cause was worse than hopeless.

"Oh, come on, Cole! Just come for a few minutes at least. The Space Knights need to see the man who saves Earth's butt day after day. You might not need us…" her voice trailed off. Cole could guess what she wanted to say, but wouldn't let herself. She knew how much he hated to hear that people needed him. He was no lone, infallible protector. He was just a man. He fought because the battles were all that remained of his once passionate need to save the world. He no longer had the passion, and he had all but lost the hope that the world could be saved, by himself or anyone else.

So softly he barely heard himself, he said, "I'll come."

It took a second for both of them to register his words, and when they did, Miu squealed with delight and Cole sank further into his depression. He looked down at his untouched coffee. Yeah, he needed a stimulant right now. He downed the now lukewarm, but still bitter liquid in one gulp before getting up and leaving with a hurried good-bye to Miu. 

She watched him leave, her heart somewhere in the pit of her stomach. He needed to be with people, she had decided months ago, when he first began to retreat from her and the rest of his friends. He'd since worsened to the point that he avoided almost all contact with people. He didn't talk, and when he did it was automatic, like he didn't actually understand or register the words that came out of his mouth. Was this war getting to him? Maybe he needed a break.

A plan began to form in her mind. The Knights had other tekkaman warriors, among them Shinya and his newest NewGen trainees. The trainees could hold off the Rahdam forces for at least a week, and a week, hopefully, was all she needed. Cole Aiba needed a vacation, and Miu would take him and make sure he enjoyed it!


	2. Brothers

Nick Aiba sat alone at one of the many tables in the crowded cafeteria of California State University. He was a freshman this year, at only seventeen years of age. He intended to major in biology, so he could figure out what the fuck he was. Not truly human, that was for sure. Human beings couldn't transform into heavily armored monsters who could only think about battle. Nick had done it once, and his twin brother Cole did it every day. Nick just wanted to be normal, would give up everything for a normal life and a normal family; Cole wanted to save the world. This was his fucking father's fault, of course. If he hadn't had the bad sense to be exploring the rings of Saturn twenty-something years ago, none of this would've happened. But then again, if dad hadn't joined the Space Knights, he would never have met mom, and Nick wouldn't exist. _At least I wouldn't be some half alien freak no one wants to come close to!_

No one normal, at any rate. Nick seemed to attract the weirdoes of the world to flock to him. He was an oddity, he supposed. He was an outsider even to the outsiders, never accepted by anybody. He felt for the blue crystal on it's chain hidden beneath his shirt. It felt hot to the touch, almost uncomfortably hot, but he couldn't take it off; something inside himself wouldn't let him get rid of it. Maybe he was more like those alien Rahdam than just possessing some of their powers. Nick shook his head to rid himself of that thought, his shaggy dark hair falling in his eyes. Fuck with aliens, he thought, and you end up doubting your own fucking thoughts. He almost envied his brother; at least Cole could accept the crystal and all it entailed.

Sinking into one of his common bouts of depression, Nick got up and angrily dumped his Styrofoam tray in the garbage before heading back to his dorm room. It wasn't empty, as he had expected. A petite young oriental woman, only a little older than him if he judged right, sat on the bed.

 "You're Nick," she said. It wasn't a question.

 "Yeah. I don't know you."

"Nope," she agreed. "I'm a friend of your brother's."

Fear suddenly gripped his heart. "Oh, God, something happened to him. He's hurt or—"

"No," she broke him off hurriedly, "nothing like that. He's fine. Well, not fine, but physically unhurt. He's…avoiding me, avoiding everybody actually. I was hoping that you would know some way to help him, or help me figure out what's wrong with him. You _are_ his twin brother, after all."

Nick laughed. He and his brother seemed to have opposite problems. Cole was avoiding people; people were avoiding Nick. "I don't think I can help you. Sorry, but I'm even more of a social invisible than he wants to be."

 "All right. It was worth a shot at least. Can you do me a favor?"

 "That depends on the favor, doesn't it?"

 "My _name_ is Miu. I want you to call me if you ever decide to grow a pair and at least try to help your family. I'll be at the Space Knight Headquarters. Ask for Miu Saroko; they'll patch you through to me. Good-bye Nick Aiba, I hope your life works out for you," she said. Then she picked herself up and hurried out the door, leaving Nick alone and feeling like he'd been terribly insulted. _I care for Cole_, he thought to himself, _but I can't do anything for him. If he wants to live his life a certain way, he should be allowed to, right? Isn't that what this war is all about? We humans have a thing about independence and free will—we don't want either one taken from us_.

Nick sat down on the bed. His argument made logical sense, but why didn't it make him feel any better? Probably because he remembered his childhood, when Cole had been the outspoken, passionate one, and he had been the quiet, shy twin. He was still quiet and shy, and he was weirded out by the fact that Cole could have changed so much in a year. Maybe Cole did have problems. _Do I owe it to him to try to help? Do I want to help, even if I could?_

Nick shook his head. Of course he wanted to help. As different as they were, he and Cole were still brothers, still twins, and they loved each other. _But what can I do?_

He sighed. There was nothing to do but try.

*

 "Miu, where in God's name are you taking me?" asked Cole angrily to the girl who had him by the arm, trying valiantly to drag him toward the door.

 "Away from here," she replied calmly, her brown, almond shaped eyes glittering and a sly smile curving her lips.

 "I can't."

 "You, Cole Aiba, don't have a choice in the matter. Commander Aiba, the NewGen and the trainees can handle the Rahdam until you get back; have a little faith in people. Now be a good little tekkaman warrior and come with me." Miu all but grabbed him by his ear to get him out of headquarters, and he fought her all the way to the transport. Men, she thought disdainfully. They're always trouble. They hated to play games, except by their own rules. Fortunately, Miu had figured out how to play their game well enough that they didn't even realize she had won until it was too late. Funny how they all thought she was so innocent.... Such was the case now. And now she was going to help Cole, whether he wanted help or not.

She drove the transport out of the city and into the more rural farmland. Her folks had a ranch out here; it would be the perfect place for Cole to relax and become human (figuratively speaking) again. She spared a glance at him out of the corner of her eye. He was sound asleep, probably tired from all the battles he had fought, and would fight, stretching behind and before him like a stream of marching ants, with no end in sight. She didn't envy him. As a tekkaman, he had the power to fight, but in fighting, was he losing his purpose? Had he forgotten the reason he had started fighting to begin with? Well, thought Miu, I'll just have to remind him.

They arrived at Miu's ranch about four hours after they'd left Space Knight Headquarters, and much to Miu's surprise, she found that someone was already there, someone who looked and awful lot like Nick Aiba. I guess I underestimated him, she thought. Miu hadn't really believed that Cole's twin would come. But he had, and she was grateful. Maybe having family around would shock Cole out of his shell.  She wondered how long it had been since he'd talked to him parents.

"How long have you been waiting?" she asked the dark haired young man seated on the front porch.

"Not long. I called you, and they told me where you were going and with whom, so I figured I'd better put in an appearance." Nick managed a ghost of a smile at his own jest, but it soon vaporized when he looked in the transport window and saw the pale face of his brother for the first time in over a year. "He looks awful, like a shadow of himself."

"I know," responded Miu worriedly. "I don't know what to do Nick, I thought I had it all worked out and I don't. All I know is that he's better off here than back there, but I have no idea if it will be enough."

"All we can do is try, right? And we have to try; there is a very special part of my brother that I don't want to see squashed. But let's wait until he wakes up to make any decisions. Okay?"

A tear crawled its way slowly down Miu's cheek. "Yeah," she sniffed, and brushed the tear away. They both turned to look at the sleeping faithless hero. He's so peaceful when he's asleep, thought Miu. It's probably the only time I've ever seen him relax. It must be a good sign that he trusted her enough to fall asleep in front of her. Either that or he was too drained to care about his pride. She secretly hoped it was the former. "Will you carry him inside?  The guest bedroom is the last door on the right.  I'm going to fix something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"Just a sandwich I guess. I'm not very hungry."

"I know what you mean; my stomach is in knots. Try to force it down anyway; we'll get nowhere if we don't have our strength," she said as she walked into the house to prepare the food.

Nick nodded in assent as he picked his twin up and carried him to the guestroom and set him down on the bed. His stomach was in knots, too. He was worried about his twin, and worried about Cole's reaction to seeing his coward brother again. I hope he doesn't try to punch me out. He reached for the warm blue crystal. It was comforting, in a way, it let him know he wasn't alone, that he had another, stronger part of himself watching out for his brother. _Maybe I can't bring myself to fight right now, but this crystal holds the promise that maybe someday I will, that I'll be strong like Cole_. Nick clutched the crystal to his chest, its warmth reassuring him that he could still feel, even after the shock of seeing his once passionate brother reduced to a cold ghost of himself. A glittering tear fell from his eye onto Cole's cheek, where it rested for several moments until Cole opened his eyes and sat up. Nick's fallen tear mimicked one of Cole's own, sliding down Cole's face and off his chin.

"Nick." Just one word was all Cole said, but with that one word came a wealth of emotion. Happiness at seeing his twin again after so long, anger that he'd been a part of Miu's plan to "fix" him, sadness that he couldn't be the man Nick remembered. The old Cole had been burned away by battle, leaving only this jaded, unimpassioned husk. And while nothing could hurt him anymore, nothing could make him truly happy, either. War, in a word, sucked.

"Cole," returned Nick in a cautious voice. He sighed heavily. "It's good to see you again," he said at last.

"Yeah, you too."

"So…" Nick trailed off, not really knowing what to say. He'd dreamed of many conversations that began like this, but in his dreams he always knew what to say. Now, he had no idea what to say, and neither, it seemed, did Cole. They just sat there watching each other for a long time until, at length, Cole spoke.

"So, um, how's college going?"

"All right, I guess. It's not really that different from high school." Nick didn't tell his twin that he was desperately unhappy there and that nobody liked him, but things weren't much different from that growing up.  Being the sons of Tekkaman Blade, the savior of humanity, was as alienating as it was intimidating. "How are things with you?"

Cole laughed.  It was a bitter, self-condemning sound. "Miu hijacked me. She must not have thought I was all right."

"Do you think that you're all right?"

Cole thought about that. Was he all right? Except for having lost faith in Earth's victory, he was fine. Depressed, but fine. "I'll live," he said.

"That wasn't what I asked," replied his brother. "But I'll talk to Miu and have her take you back to headquarters so you can fight."

"No," Cole said in a voice like flint, hard and sharp.  He looked up at his brother, desperation in his emerald green eyes. "I don't want to go back. Not now, maybe not ever. I just can't take it anymore; all the people are so fucking optimistic and they depend on the tekkamen to save the earth because they think we can handle it. Well, we can't! I can't do it anymore!" Cole paused and hung his head. "There's just no hope for Earth."

"Fuck you! What are you talking about, no hope? You and the rest of the Space Knights are our hope. You go out there every day and fight for our hides, and every day you drive them away. Sooner or later they have to give up, right? They only have so many ships. Can't you see it Cole? You _are_ our hope! How the hell could you fight for something you don't believe in? Why don't you just let the Rahdam take over the Earth?"

Anger burned like green flames in Cole's eyes. "What is this, coming from the coward who runs away from his powers and responsibilities? Well, I guess I'm a coward now too," he said bitterly.

Nick looked away. "You were never a coward, Cole. You were always the strong one, but sometimes you have to let other people to support you, to be strong for you when you can't be strong for yourself." Nick looked directly at his twin. "Miu and me, we want to help. We care about you, as our friend and my brother."

Cole said nothing.

"Fine, be that way. But, just…we're here for you. Whatever you need, okay?"

Cole remained silent as Nick left the room. When he heard the door click shut he whispered to himself, "If only you could help me, brother. If only you could."


	3. Family

Nick had made his decision. He didn't care anymore if he was human or not, he didn't care what using the crystal could do to his mind. If Cole wasn't going to fight for Earth, Nick would have to. There was too much that was precious for the Rahdam to destroy. He would obliterate them first! Such a violent thought would have disgusted him before, but he'd changed in the past day.  Seeing his brother that way…well, if violence was the only way to save his friends and family, then so be it.

He pulled the blue crystal from around his neck, snapping the golden chain, and raised it above his head. "Tekk setter!" he cried for the second time in his life. He only had an instant to realize that the darkening blue sky above was the same color as his crystal before he was encased in his gray and blue alien offensive armor. With instinct as his only guide, Nick fired his thrusters and sped toward Space Knight Headquarters to meet up with his Uncle Shinya for the first time in more than a year.

As he flew, he saw with enhanced eyesight the beautiful vistas of Earth at sunset and knew that he would fight till his last breath to protect this planet from the invaders. He eagerly anticipated the time when he would slay them with his bare hands, to feel their bodies crumble and die within his grip. Nick imagined how they would dissolve into their basic elements and float there like logs in an endless, eternal sea of midnight. The Rahdam would never take this planet from its rightful people!

When Nick landed at Space Knight Headquarters, he dispelled the armor and hurried to Uncle Shinya's office. He entered without knocking, still feeling the adrenaline aftereffects of the tekkaman transformation process. Nick knew that he wasn't thinking clearly, and he didn't give a shit. The Rahdam had to die for what they'd done to his brother, to his whole goddamned family.

"Nick. I am surprised to see you here. Would you care to explain your presence?" asked the Commander in his usual unemotional tone. Nick had seen his uncle destroy legions of spider-crabs in minutes and he had seen his uncle in a fistfight with Nick's father, but he had never seen anything matching the hostility in his uncle's ruby eyes when he'd walked into the office. Nick shivered despite himself.

"I came to fight, Uncle," replied Nick in what he hoped was an even voice.

"Did you, now? And what happened to the whining coward who swore that he would never tekk set? Where is the coward who let his own twin brother go off to war without him, and who sat back and watched as the warrior destroyed himself?" Shinya glared at Nick coldly. "Well, boy? What happened to the shit faced maggot that fled instead of fought?"

Nick wondered for a second how much of that anger was directed at him, and how much was pent up rage about Takaya's decision to quit leadership of the Space Knights.  It had been a long time since he'd spoken to his parents.  The last time was a year and a half ago, before he'd moved to California to attend college, before the Rahdam had attacked again.  Realizing the terrible anger was not wholly directed at him gave Nick courage.

Nick stared straight into the eyes of his uncle, green meeting red, unwavering.  "The coward is gone, Uncle. Cole is out of the fight, he has no more faith; I do. I need to fight, for his sake as well as for the world," responded Nick angrily, his voice rising with every word. "Let…me…fight."

Shinya regarded him for several seconds before speaking. "I don't think that you are ready to fight the Rahdam yet. You have the instincts that were born into you, but you lack any kind of physical and tactical training. You cannot fight yet, unless you want to die in battle."

Nick glowered. "No, Uncle. I do not want to die at all."

"In that case, you will begin training immediately. The Space Knight Tekkamen squadron alpha is about to begin the day's practice. You will join them. Tekkaman Slayer will be your advisor; do exactly what he tells you to do and you will live. This will be a live ammo practice. Watch your butt, little nephew," said Shinya, clearly dismissing him.

*

"You let him _what_?" 

Miu snorted. "I didn't _let _him do anything. He tekk set, then took off someplace while I was sleeping. If I could have stopped him, I would have." 

Cole glared at her, clearly unhappy to learn that his twin had taken it upon himself to transform. From what Miu had said, Nick had been headed toward Space Knight Headquarters, toward Uncle Shinya and the Terran army. As much as he had thought his brother a coward in the past, and been ashamed because of that spinelessness, it was infinitely worse to know that Nick was throwing himself into danger, being just as headstrong and self-assured as Cole himself had once been. Didn't that fool know what awaited him? What lay ahead was only sleepless nights and endless days wondering when the call to battle would be sounded. It was such a fucking demoralizing way to live.

 "That goddamned fool! How could he do this?" fumed Cole, realizing his own hypocrisy and not caring.  Nick had always been the gentle one, innocent in so many ways.  Fighting would destroy him.

 "Commander Aiba will take care of him, Cole. You know that."

"Yeah, he'll take care of him all right. Train him to be a killer, you mean. He'll start with just a few skirmishes at first, to give him the taste of an actual battle, but Nick will begin to revel in the destruction he metes out. I will lose my brother." Nick paused, reflecting. "Just as he's lost me." Another pause, then Cole's voice again, in a tear choked whisper. "Just as he's lost me."

Miu was stunned. Cole had shown more emotion in the last few minutes than he had in the last year. She was also sympathetic. She didn't want to see Nick's soul destroyed by war, as Cole's had almost been. He was still teetering on the edge of losing himself, but getting away from the rest of the Space Knights and seeing his brother again had helped a lot. If only Nick hadn't been so hasty. Why couldn't he have waited just a little longer while Cole's psyche healed? She'd have to help him repair the damage all by herself.

"Cole…it's okay. Nick hasn't lost you. Not yet anyway. It's your choice though…do you want to be there for him?"

"Of course I do, it's just…I don't know if I can go back there. I mean, I guess I just didn't realize how much I needed to stop fighting until I put some distance between me and the Space Knights. I don't want him to end up where I did. That bleakness…it was almost too much to stand. Do you know how close I was to ending it? Just taking some pills and going to bed one night, and never waking up? I wanted to, so badly."

Miu sighed. She hadn't realized that Cole was suicidal. "Cole, I have a question."

"Yeah?" he responded.

"What on this Earth is worth anything to you? Be honest."

"Oh God, there's so much…and you never really stop to think about it.  I took so much for granted: my family, you, the sunsets and sunrises, swimming in the ocean. Did you know that when I was a kid my parents to Nick and I swimming every summer? It was so peaceful back then. I wish it could be like that again."

"How much would you like to wager that the very same things are important to Nick? That he's fighting to win back that peace for the future? Isn't that what you wanted to do?"

"I'll tell you what Miu, I'll go back to headquarters with you and see if I've changed my mind by then. No matter what, I think I need to talk with Uncle Shinya about his plan for winning this war. I need some reassurances that he knows what he's doing."

Relief flooded Miu. "Ok, Cole. Let's go back."

*

Aki sighed and put down the phone.  Shinya had just called in his weekly update with some very disturbing news.  Cole had gone missing, and Nick had shown up at Headquarters eager to join the Space Knights.  The twins were so much alike, more so than they would admit to themselves, and now both so much in danger.  She'd wanted to spare them this fight, which is why she and D-Boy resigned command ten years ago, when the twins had gotten old enough to know what the fight meant.

They'd been born mere minutes apart, yet Cole always acted the elder, looking out for Nick.  Aki had never asked her son why he had joined up, but she had her suspicions that it was to protect Nick from the immediacy of the war.  By alienating his brother, Cole had hoped to keep Nick out of battle.  Up until now, it had worked.  But now both of her sons were warriors, like their father.  She didn't know if she could bear losing them as she'd almost lost D-Boy so many times.

She and D-Boy were going to have a long talk about their future.

"Aki," said a deep, soft voice from behind her.  She whirled into the arms of her lover, her confidante, her husband.

"D-Boy.  I'm so worried about them.  We tried so hard to keep them away from this…"

"I know, but it's the path they have chosen, and I think now, more then ever, they need our support.  As parents and as warriors."

"It's just not fair.  They don't realize how much they stand to lose.  I hoped that our disapproval would be enough to dissuade them from this life.  But…I guess it's time to face up to the fact that they've made their choice.

"You're right, D-Boy."  Aki laughed nervously.  "You're always right, you know.  They need us to be there for them."

"Right.  I'll call Shinya back and let him know we're on our way."


End file.
